Disney CEO Bob Chapek said he expects Disneyland to finally reopen its doors in late April, with a limited number of visitors allowed into the California theme park.
“We’re encouraged by the positive trends were seeing and we’re hopeful they’ll continue to improve and we’ll be able to reopen our parks to our guests with limited capacity by late April,” Chapek said Tuesday during Disney’s annual shareholder meeting. “We look forward to publicizing an opening date in the coming weeks.”
Disneyland has been closed since last March. Chapek added that about 10,000 furloughed park employees would be recalled.
Disneyland, and fellow Southern California theme park Universal Studios, got the green light last week to begin reopening preparations. Last Friday, California’s department of health issued new guidelines that will kick in on April 1.
Outdoor stadiums and concert venues in all counties, regardless of what tier they’re in, will be able to welcome up to 100 California residents beginning on the first day of April. Most counties, including Los Angeles and Orange County, are in the most restrictive Purple Tier, but that is expected to change soon as both pandemic conditions and vaccinations continue to improve.
Theme parks can reopen at 15% capacity for counties in the Red Tier. That capacity increases to 25% in the Orange Tier and 35% in the Yellow Tier. For outdoor venues, the capacity limits are 20% in the Red Tier, 33% in the Orange Tier and 67% in the Yellow Tier.